Warbird Information Exchange

Just a little footage of wartime activities at Camp Claiborne. I must admit I found the "research" in the second video quite fascinating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeXWyK1pICU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fAnkYRw8Bk

_________________
It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

I got a lead of them doing this out here in the california desert around Pattons army practice areas by an old man who knows the exact location of a bunch of jeeps and shermans and halftracts he saw them burry when he was a kid after the war....gunna go dig around someday....

A guy(that worked for a airline); went to Canada to try and find a Wildcat in British Columbia and used my name to do it and used my name while in route and the Mounties at Williams Lake BC were called to stop him/ME.
We live in such a small world that the Mountie that answered the telephone surprisingly turned out to be a BUDDY of mine from high school in Grandview Mo!

The Heritage Society then called me and asked if i had been to Canada in the last 2 weeks.I replied Sir. I have never been to Canada in my life. The Constable or whatever the term is backed up my reputation and the matter was put to rest,other than that they are waiting for him to return to Canada .He told me the fine will start at $50k and go up from there.
I don't want you to be my wing man.

They are still waiting for you.

_________________
Well if I can't rollerskate around my playpen while smoking and drinking a beer, I'm staying home..

Parts yes, entire aircraft nope. Name one instance of where an entire intact aircraft was purposely dumped, buried and recovered decades later? The WWII aircraft that even come close to fitting that description were all crash landed in extremely remote areas or deep underwater. I know of not one case of an aircraft in a crate that was buried and later found.

Buried MiG's in Iraq? Granted it wasn't decades later, but the were entire intact aircraft purposely buried and recovered later

_________________
Lest Hero-worship raise it's head and cloud our vision, remember that World War II was fought and won by the same sort of twenty-something punks we wouldn't let our daughters date.

True, but I should have clarified and said WWII aircraft. So you got me on a technicality.

If I remember correctly, when I was a kid growing up in the 70s reading an article in one of the CAF publications about and intact or nearly intact P-40 that was dug up from a farmers field. I can't remember if it was a CAF Dispatch or not. Maybe someone else remembers that article.

I basically posed this exact question once on another thread, possibly the Burma Spitfire saga. The only example noted at that time were the Iraq Migs which I discounted since I was specifically after WW2 examples. Other than that the P-40 recovered from the earthen dam in Canada was the only example I could find and it was buried by a farmer not the military. I think just about any former military base you can find will have buried junk on it. Over time the stories about what is buried get better and better as warbirds and other items (tanks) become more valuable. These things tend to take on a life of their own after a while. I'm still waiting for an answer on what that camera lowered into the supposed borehole in the supposed crate in Burma showed.

On another note years ago in Air Classics they had a blurb about a Zero supposedly buried on the campus at a University in Ohio. I thought that could possibly have some legs but never heard more. Since the military had an efficient post war scrapping system in operation I doubt they really buried much in the way of intact aircraft. What I could see happening is years later a school or a town or some entity that has possession of a warbird needs to get rid of it so they find a hole and dump it.

_________________
Always looking for WW2 Half-Tracks and Parts.

I remember seeing photos of a group slowly bringing up a P-38 in Alaska.Slow tedious hard work .
IRRC i read it hear.
Many bases when closed down in the USA and they buried everything including desks and the occasional aircraft or multiple aircraft. I was told that say a AC had problems and landed at a base and was deemed not worth repairing it and was towed off to the side or out back. Such as a Navy AC emergency lands at a USAF base in Oklahoma. AC was not worth repairing etc. Pilot goes back to his base by other means and the Navy AC is just a problem for the base commander. The base was either closing or just cleaning up the base and base commander said get rid of it. Fastest and cheapest way was a hole out back at the base dump. While talking to a Base Commander in Ok. we developed this idea. Bs'ing me i can't say. I do believe him that he was always getting approached by people searching for buried items by what ever tripped their trigger. Such as barrel after barrel of buried 45 pistols etc.

I did the basic research and the logistics for a guy that went to Alaska. He came back with a stirrup
off a early P-38 from a bury site on Indian ground. He said you could crawl back in among them.

They are out there.

_________________
Well if I can't rollerskate around my playpen while smoking and drinking a beer, I'm staying home..

The govt during WWII had a civilian group of contractors that went around the US and collected downed ac that were on private property. Where they took them i have no idea.

Any of those old bases that are now on private property all had open dumps. I saw some old irrc USDA aerial photos from some archive that the state of OK have you could look at with a irc Stereo-optic viewer and see the bases and the dumps etc.

Go see for your self.

_________________
Well if I can't rollerskate around my playpen while smoking and drinking a beer, I'm staying home..

When it comes to surviving warbirds, I suppose the word "intact" is a bit subjective.

Certainly not crated in cosmoline, but what of the P-47's and P-38's buried whole near Clark Field in the Philippines? Is any search still on for them?

http://blog.metarreader.com/wp-content/ ... ppines.jpg

_________________
It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

Dan,

In 1986 Lefty Gardner and I were in the Pacific searching another site of Mustangs, etc that I had photos of being buried. We had dinner with the local Base Commander, that had been stationed at Clark Field in the past. He knew of the buried P38s and during a base construction project several sections of the P-38s were unearthed. They were very badly corroded. I also have photos of the P-38s piled up and burned before being buried. This site may not yield many restorable parts.

I have not heard any facts pertaining to the P-47s, but suspect the same crule treatment.

Pirate Lex

Hope you and the family are well!

_________________
An ego is no match for gravity.

that picture makes my stomach churn!........yikes.....soo sad! Lex, any new adventures and plans?

Camshaw,

Who knows if I will ever find any warbird ever again! I hope so. Thanks for asking though.

I do think there is something to this Camp Claiborne, and I really do wish them the best on this!

Back on topic,
Pirate Lex

_________________
An ego is no match for gravity.

P-38 White 33 was buried, along with others....